BOOKS, EDUCATION Comments turned off

Marxism in the Classroom, Riots in the Streets The production of brainwashed generations of automatons. Clare M. Lopez

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/07/marxism-classroom-riots-streets-clare-m-lopez/

The explosion of lawless rioting on American streets was only a matter of time. Sixty-two years ago, former FBI agent W. Cleon Skousen wrote “The Naked Communist” to warn Americans about how communists planned to destroy our system from within, not by means of sudden revolution as envisioned by Karl Marx, but through a version of Italian communist Antonio Gramsci’s “cultural Marxism.” With a nod to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its People’s Liberation Army (PLA), it has been a “long march through the institutions” that has brought us to the brink of catastrophe—and much of it began in our schools.

Chapter 13 of Skousen’s book lists 45 goals of communism in America. Number 17 reads: “Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of the teachers’ associations. Put the party line in textbooks.” And so they did. While American parents were busy working to sustain their families and achieve a piece of the American dream, their children were at schools with teachers and textbooks that taught them to hate America, the Judeo-Christian foundations of our national identity, and the remarkable individuals who built this country on the principles of the Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, the Federalist Papers, and more.

As a result, the brainwashed generations of automatons marching in lockstep out of such schools possess neither critical thinking nor the intellectual ability to appreciate the brilliance and opportunity bequeathed to them by the great philosophers of Western Civilization.

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Who, Exactly, is a ‘Karen’? Reflections on the racist and improper use of the term.Jason D. Hill

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/07/who-exactly-karen-jason-d-hill/

Last Thursday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot called White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany “Karen” after the press secretary referred to the mayor as a “derelict mayor” at a White House briefing.

Lightfoot shot back with a tweet on Twitter: “Hey, Karen, Watch your mouth.”

The term “Karen” has been used routinely and reported in the press by various individuals capturing the often — it is true — obnoxious behavior of certain women who happen to be white. These behaviors have been recorded on cell phone cameras, and, in many cases, they have gone viral.

As an academic philosopher who regularly teaches theories of concepts and philosophy of language, let me say something about the conceptually improper and actually racist use of this term.

“Karen” is a slang and pejorative term used to describe a rude white woman who is exploiting her privilege as a white woman.

Proper names are not concepts like, say, chairs, tables, birds, furniture, democracy, justice, brave, kind, evil and so on. Such terms possess a set of distinguishing characteristics that define them, and hearing those terms will automatically conjure in one’s mind that shared set of characteristics. Any person who is evil or brave or kind, regardless of background, will share a set of attributes (and their attendant behavioral traits) in common with any other person in the world who is evil or brave or kind. These terms are designators that denote specific characteristics tied to a referent (an individuals or individuals) which holds them. That is why we don’t confuse evil people with kind people, and thieves and liars with honest and truthful people. The concepts mark out the defining behaviors of the persons who bear such attributes.

POLITICS Comments turned off

Biden Vows to Stamp Out ‘Islamicphobia’ That means more Islamic proselytizing is coming to American public schools. Robert Spencer

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/07/biden-vows-stamp-out-islamicphobia-robert-spencer/

The presidential campaign of 2020 has so far unfolded in more of a crisis atmosphere than any campaign in decades. Portland, Oregon and other cities are still engulfed by Antifa violence (as the Democrats side with the violent rioters), coronavirus hysteria is still hamstringing the nation’s economic life and prosperity, social media giants are waging all-out war against the freedom of speech, and America’s history and heritage is under direct and unapologetic assault from Marxists vowing a revolution in America. In the midst of all this, on July 20, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden demonstrated anew the disturbing priorities of his increasingly anti-American party.

Instead of addressing the sharp rise in crime and lawlessness, the demonization of American history and culture, the Left’s assault on the Second Amendment and other basic rights, or any of the other burning issues of the day, Biden chose to address the “Million Muslim Votes Summit,” hosted by Emgage Action, which claims to be is the largest Muslim PAC in the United States. In the course of his rambling remarks, Biden declared: “One of the things I think is important, I wish we taught more in our schools about the Islamic faith.”[1]

In the midst of what could very well turn out to be a second American civil war, or even the end of the United States as a free republic, Joe Biden is preoccupied with getting our schools to proselytize for Islam more intensively than they already do. For make no mistake: that is what Biden means when he says he wishes that our schools taught more about Islam. Schools already teach about Islam as a major world religion. That teaching has already been widely criticized as whitewashing the crimes committed in the name of Islam and in accord with its teachings, and Biden wants even more of that: he thinks the cure for what he repeatedly called “Islamicphobia” (there’s that famous “stutter” again, but you can’t really fault him for getting a word wrong that’s artificial and made-up in the first place) is for American schoolchildren to be relentlessly indoctrinated with the idea that Islam is wonderful, and never mind about all those dead bodies of people killed to screams of “Allahu akbar.”

HOMELAND SECURITY Comments turned off

DOJ Charges 4 Researchers with Hiding Ties to China’s Military; One Is Being Harbored at San Francisco Consulate By Bryan Preston

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/bryan-preston/2020/07/23/doj-charges-four-researchers-for-hiding-affiliations-with-the-chinas-military-says-one-is-being-harbored-at-a-chinese-consulate-n675354

On Wednesday, the United States government moved to shut down the Chinese consulate in Houston. Shortly after, Houston police and fire responded to reports of small fires in the consulate’s courtyard. Individuals appeared to be burning papers.

That consulate has been accused of fomenting racial unrest in the country, which is one reason why the government apparently ordered it shut down.

Now, the Chinese consulate in San Francisco may be harboring an accused spy.

The Department of Justice this afternoon announced charges against four Chinese nationals who are in the United States on research visas. They are accused of engaging in a concerted effort to conceal their ties with China’s military.

“These members of China’s People Liberation Army applied for research visas while hiding their true affiliation with the PLA,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “This is another part of the Chinese Communist Party’s plan to take advantage of our open society and exploit academic institutions.  We will continue to conduct this investigation together with the FBI.”

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Nancy Pelosi’s vile use of ‘Stormtroopers’ By Rabbi Aryeh Spero

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/07/nancy_pelosis_vile_use_of_stormtroopers.html

Nancy Pelosi’s deliberate use of the term “stormtroopers” to describe America’s Homeland Security officers quelling riots and protecting people in Portland and Chicago is a vile accusation against our good officers and offensive to Jews across the world.

Speaker Pelosi must know that the Stormtroopers (SturmAbteilung, SA) were the Nazi Party’s strongarm squad, which attacked, brutalized, and murdered Hitler’s opponents, including countless German Jews, by this means setting the pattern for the Holocaust. In her unending despicable treatment of our President, she continues to propagandize against him through abhorrent language depicting anything done by the President as Hitlerian and actions by the administration as Nazi-like. This is a severe affront to our country and to those Jews who were the genuine victims of real stormtroopers.

Our Homeland Security officers in Portland and Chicago are responsible people sent in behalf of a very worthwhile and necessary mission, namely, protecting the lives of innocent people being threatened by Antifa and certain elements within Black Lives Matter, as well as protecting private property, homes and businesses, and federal buildings. They, unlike the Stormtroopers, are not engaged in genocide.

One would think that all Jewish organizations would cry foul at Pelosi’s use of the term “stormtroopers,” given that so many of our ancestors in Europe were the victims of actual stormtroopers and their evil designs. Many of our ancestors would have cheered President Trump who has been outstanding in his goodwill towards Israel and the Jewish people.  However, most American Jewish organizations have redefined Jewishness as leftist politics with the Democrat Party being its vehicle and their identification, ignoring and minimizing any unsavory pronouncement from a Democrat leader.  The success of the Democrat Party and its leftist agenda has become the most important priority of most American Jewish organizations.  

NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Democrats continue to lay the groundwork for Resistance II: The Civil War By Andrea Widburg

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2020/07/democrats_continue_to_lay_the_groundwork_for_resistance_ii_the_civil_war.html

It started with Hillary Clinton, who has spent the last three-and-a-half years insisting that she was cheated out of her rightful place in the Oval Office. Last week, she opined, “Well, I think it is a fair point to raise as to whether or not, if he loses, he’s going to go quietly or not.” And then she issued the marching order: “And we have to be ready for that.”

How does one get ready to overthrow the duly elected president of the United States? After all, the Democrats’ Deep State efforts during Trump’s first term have failed. Democrats are therefore getting their ducks in a row for a more aggressive challenge.

Paul Krugman did his bit with a rant that Trump could not win. From there, he concluded that the federal officers in Portland – all wearing “police” labels and DHS insignia – were secret agents “without identification,” rounding up people.

A few days ago, Nancy Pelosi took up the gauntlet when she dehumanized Trump by refusing even to name him and used eliminationist rhetoric that likened him to an insect:

The fact is, whether he knows it yet or not, he will be leaving. Just because he might not want to move out of the White House doesn’t mean we won’t have an inauguration ceremony to inaugurate a duly elected president of the United States. [Snip.] It has nothing to do with if the certain occupant of the White House doesn’t feel like moving and has to be fumigated out of there.

Now, Rep. Maxine Waters (D., the slums of L.A.) is on the job. And if you thought Krugman and Pelosi were unhinged, Waters shows that they’re rank amateurs. Waters was on Joy Reid’s new “ReidOut” show on MSNBC. To Waters, when she looks at Portland, it’s 1938 in Berlin all over again:

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Lebanon Hyperinflates By Steve H. Hanke

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/lebanon-hyperinflates/

Yesterday will go down as a dark day in Lebanon’s history. That is when Lebanon was entered into the Hanke-Krus World Hyperinflation Table. When I measured Lebanon’s inflation rate yesterday, it was a sizzling 52.6 percent per month. That was the 30th consecutive day in which Lebanon’s monthly inflation rate exceeded 50 percent. So, on July 22, 2020, Lebanon entered the record books with the dubious distinction of recording the world’s 62nd episode of hyperinflation — the only episode to ever occur in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Now there are two ongoing hyperinflations: Lebanon’s, where the annual inflation rate is 462 percent, and Venezuela’s, where the annual rate soars at 2,219 percent.

Just how has Lebanon found itself in such an inglorious position? For years, the Lebanese government, the central bank (Banque du Liban), and savers played a game. The government spent more than it collected in taxes and financed its resulting deficits by paying sky-high interest rates on the debt it issued. The central bank bought some of the debt and kept the official pound-U.S. dollar exchange rate pegged at 1,500. The peg was designed so that those who purchased the government’s debt would have confidence that it would retain its purchasing power in U.S. dollar terms when it matured. Banks offered relatively “high” interest rates to depositors and were also part of the game. For a surprisingly long period of time, the money poured in from domestic savers, the Lebanese diaspora, and other foreign investors. They were all chasing yield and blind to the nature of the game.

Eventually, though, it became apparent that the government’s mountain of debt had become so large that the dollar-denominated portion could not be repaid in full. It also became clear that the government could not even repay the Lebanese pound-denominated portion in full unless the pound was officially devalued. At that point, the government faced an investors’ strike and was forced to default on a maturing foreign bond on March 9. The default triggered a sharp depreciation of the pound in the black market and a surge in inflation.

BOOKS, NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Ibram X. Kendi, Prophet of Anti-racism By Christopher Caldwell

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/08/10/ibram-x-kendi-prophet-of-anti-racism/

He says we must fight discrimination with discrimination, and that it’s racist to disagree

It is a measure of how deeply our culture is fragmented that some of the best-read people in the country have never heard of Ibram X. Kendi. Most Wall Street Journal readers would probably have to Google him. But Kendi now has four books at or near the top of the best-seller lists, including Stamped from the Beginning, which is a history of American racism that won the National Book Award in 2016, and two books on racism for younger readers.

Racism is Kendi’s thing. His newest, How to Be an Antiracist, reappeared at the top of the New York Times nonfiction best-seller list this summer after having spent several months on the list last fall and winter. For many of the protesters who poured onto America’s streets in June in the wake of the videotaped killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, the book has been a conceptual road map. As the first fires were being lit in Minnesota, Boston University announced it would offer Kendi, 38, the most prestigious tenured chair at its disposal, making him only the second holder of the Andrew W. Mellon Professorship in the Humanities. The chair has been vacant since the death of the novelist and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel four years ago. BU will also host the Center for Antiracist Research, which Kendi founded at American University.

The “antiracism” of which Kendi is the most trusted exponent is not just a new name for an old precept. It is the political doctrine behind the street demonstrations, “cancelings,” Twitter attacks, boycotts, statue topplings, and self-denunciations that have come together in a national movement. Anti-racists assume that the American system of politics, economics, and policing has been corrupted by racial prejudice, that such prejudice explains the entire difference in socioeconomic status between blacks and others, that the status quo must be fought and beaten, and that anyone not actively engaged in this system-changing work is a collaborator with racism, and therefore himself a legitimate target for attack.

WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

My Escape to America Shows the Price of Dissent in South Sudan The president ordered me abducted or killed. This isn’t the democracy the West bargained for in 2011. By Peter Biar Ajak

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/my-escape-to-america-shows-the-price-of-dissent-in-south-sudan-11595545759?mod=opinion_lead_pos10

I arrived safely in Washington Thursday after a harrowing journey from Nairobi, Kenya. I was forced into hiding after receiving word several weeks ago from senior government officials in South Sudan that President Salva Kiir had ordered the National Security Service, led by Gen. Akol Koor Kuc, either to abduct me from Kenya or murder me.

I knew this was no idle threat. Previously, I had been a political prisoner in South Sudan, convicted in a show trial for “disturbing the peace” and sentenced to two years in prison. My real offense: daring to criticize Mr. Kiir’s failed leadership. In January 2017, two other dissidents were abducted from Nairobi and murdered, leading the U.S. to impose sanctions on six South Sudanese officials.

I’m grateful to President Trump and the U.S. for providing refuge to me, my wife, and our three young children. While the South Sudanese government has always claimed it works within the bounds of the law, I disagree. My story is only one example of Mr. Kiir’s cruelty. He has never had to face the voters of independent South Sudan, working instead to build a powerful and repressive security apparatus with one mission—to keep him in power. The U.S., which has engaged in concerted diplomacy and invested more than $12 billion in humanitarian assistance since the country’s independence in 2011, must insist on free elections. South Sudanese should vote no later than December 2021, with appropriate precautions for Covid-19 and monitoring to ensure that the vote is fair and transparent.

MEDIA Comments turned off

New York Times-Hyped Korean Report Actually Shows Kids Are Not Spreading Coronavirus Phil Kerpen 

Posted By on July 24th, 2020

https://thefederalist.com/2020/07/22/new-york-times-hyped-korean-report-actually-shows-kids-are-not-spreading-coronavirus/

In an incredible redux of when they hyped the Christian Drosten fake paper claiming children were highly infectious — when his math actually showed the opposite — the New York Times and Chicago Tribune pushed screaming headlines that a new Korean government report proves children ages 10 to 19 are highly infectious.

The Korean government report, based on data from March and ignoring all newer research, does make that claim, with qualifications, in its narrative summary. Its actual math, however, shows exactly the opposite. Do the elite newspapers even bother to consult anyone numerate?

As Professor Francois Balloux of the University of Lausanne Genetics Institute immediately replied, the New York Times writer completely misunderstood the report.

In fact, the report found that it was extremely rare for children to bring an infection into the home. It found that just 2.7 percent of potential “index cases” (first case in the home) were under age 20. Imagine twisting that into a call for school closures. It’s astonishingly reckless.

The report also did no genetic mapping and therefore was unable to determine true index cases. The paper itself says, “[W]e could not determine direction of transmission.” Contrast that with the contact tracing study from Iceland, which mapped haplotypes to determine direction of transmission and found it was almost always parent to child.

The supposedly highly contagious 10-19 group had only 3.7 contacts per potential index patient, which is dwarfed by the adult categories. This report, to the extent it tells us anything, indicates children play no significant role in community transmission, consistent with all of the most recent research.

You’ll also notice the number of potential under-age-20 “index cases” in the report is 153, not the 65,000 suggested by the New York Times’ dishonest sub-headline.